NEAL CASAL
''LEAVING TRACES: SONGS 1994-2004''
SEPTEMBER 20 2004
76:35
**********
01 - Free To Go 06:04
02 - Maybe California 04:36
03 - Real Country Dark 04:37
04 - St. Cloud 04:38 (Shawn Barton, Neal Casal)
05 - Fremont Row 03:09
06 - Eddy & Diamonds 05:11
07 - Too Much To Ask 05:02
08 - Oceanview 04:52
09 - Just Getting By 03:46
10 - All The Luck In The World 04:06
11 - Reason 02:58
12 - Today I'm Gonna Bleed 03:45
13 - Free Light Of Day 04:52
14 - Me And Queen Sylvia 02:58
15 - Lucky Stars 04:09
16 - Fierce Little Bird 04:11
17 - It's Not Enough 03:43 (Johnny Thunders)
18 - Delaware Station 03:53
Tracks By Neal Casal, Except 4, 17
**********
Neal Casal/Bass, Casio, Drums, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals, Wurlitzer
John Ginty/Melodica, Organ, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Wurlitzer
Bob Glaub/Bass
Don Heffington/Drums, Percussion
James "Hutch" Hutchinson/Bass, Harmony
Tonya Lamm/Harmony
Greg Leisz/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin, Pedal Steel, Weissenborn
Darrell Leonard/Flugelhorn
Shannon McNally/Vocal Harmony
Kevin Spendley/Drums
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Hal Horowitz
This extensive 18 track, nearly 80-minute compilation is an excellent and much needed summary of the plaintive singer/songwriter's rather turbulent career. An American who is much better known in Europe, Casal's eight albums and EPs over the titular decade show glimpses of brilliance amidst material slightly less stellar. In other words, his output is inconsistent, which makes this a perfect entry point for those who haven't tuned in previously. Possessing a lovely, lilting tenor voice -- at times sounding like Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook -- Casal is often compared to Jackson Browne and Neil Young due to introspective songs similar to the former ("Free Light of Day") and the ability to rock out when necessary with layered guitars ("Eddy & Diamonds") of the latter. There is an ease of performance here that transcends time, making these folk-country-rock songs sound effortless and natural. Even though they were recorded over a ten-year period, the album's non-chronological sequencing makes this feel like a seamless recording. The classy and thoughtfully laid-out 24-page book fills in Casal's back history, detailing his story through quotes from the artist and a meticulous track listing that includes all sidemen and lyrics to the songs. The end result is the portrait of a performer who, due to the usual bad business breaks, should be a much better-known quantity, at least in America. The album loses a little steam in its final third with a few too many ballads programmed back to back, but the songwriting and performance quality is so consistently resilient that this is a minor complaint. A second DVD included in some versions of the package features a documentary along with demos and live tracks. It further enhances this near definitive overview of an artist that has, unfortunately, fallen through the cracks. An obscure find well-worth searching out.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Shaun Belcher
Exile on Main St.
Born in New Jersey on November 2, 1968, country-rock songwriter Neal Casal enjoyed an acclaimed solo career before joining Ryan Adams' backing band, the Cardinals, in the mid-2000s. Casal had a restless childhood following the divorce of his parents, spending time in such various states as Georgia, California, Michigan, Florida, and upstate New York. At the age of 13, he received what would prove to be the catalyst for his music career: the twin gifts of a guitar and a copy of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. The budding singer/songwriter was fronting his own band by high school, taking inspiration from the swagger of the Stones as well as the craft of Peter Tosh, Hank Williams, and Woody Guthrie. A publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music arrived in 1991, and a contract with Zoo Records followed three years later.
Fade Away Diamond Time
For his first studio album, Casal teamed up with Wilco/Whiskeytown producer Jim Scott, who molded a reinvention of post-Woodstock '70s rock around Casal's literate songwriting. Recording sessions took place in a Spanish mansion outside of Santa Barbara -- the same mansion that Dean Martin once called home, in fact -- and Casal emerged with his stunning debut, 1995's Fade Away Diamond Time. The album's mix of Americana and California-styled country-rock won critical acclaim from publications like the Washington Post, but Casal was still dropped from Zoo's roster halfway through the following tour. Zoo went out of business soon after, but Casal bounced back, joining the indie label Buy or Die and releasing a low-key acoustic disc, Rain, Wind and Speed, in 1996. The German label Glitterhouse released Rain, Wind and Speed in Europe, where Casal's melodic and tuneful "poetry" picked up a loyal following after he made several solo and group appearances. His increased profile led to a second Glitterhouse release, a limited-edition collection of outtakes and unreleased tracks called Field Recordings, in 1997. That same year, Casal assembled a full band (including many players who joined him on Fade Away Diamond Time) and took five days to record the self-produced The Sun Rises Here. Music veterans began to take note of the songwriter's credentials, and James Iha (the Smashing Pumpkins) even solicited Casal's help for his first solo disc, 1998's Let It Come Down.
Basement Dreams
Neal Casal continued to release solo albums in the late '90s and into the 21st century, including 1998's Basement Dreams, 2000's Anytime Tomorrow, 2005's Return in Kind, and 2006's No Wish to Reminisce. He also joined Ryan Adams' backing band, the Cardinals, playing lead guitar and contributing vocal harmonies to a string of albums.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
********************
''LEAVING TRACES: SONGS 1994-2004''
SEPTEMBER 20 2004
76:35
**********
01 - Free To Go 06:04
02 - Maybe California 04:36
03 - Real Country Dark 04:37
04 - St. Cloud 04:38 (Shawn Barton, Neal Casal)
05 - Fremont Row 03:09
06 - Eddy & Diamonds 05:11
07 - Too Much To Ask 05:02
08 - Oceanview 04:52
09 - Just Getting By 03:46
10 - All The Luck In The World 04:06
11 - Reason 02:58
12 - Today I'm Gonna Bleed 03:45
13 - Free Light Of Day 04:52
14 - Me And Queen Sylvia 02:58
15 - Lucky Stars 04:09
16 - Fierce Little Bird 04:11
17 - It's Not Enough 03:43 (Johnny Thunders)
18 - Delaware Station 03:53
Tracks By Neal Casal, Except 4, 17
**********
Neal Casal/Bass, Casio, Drums, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals, Wurlitzer
John Ginty/Melodica, Organ, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Wurlitzer
Bob Glaub/Bass
Don Heffington/Drums, Percussion
James "Hutch" Hutchinson/Bass, Harmony
Tonya Lamm/Harmony
Greg Leisz/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin, Pedal Steel, Weissenborn
Darrell Leonard/Flugelhorn
Shannon McNally/Vocal Harmony
Kevin Spendley/Drums
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Hal Horowitz
This extensive 18 track, nearly 80-minute compilation is an excellent and much needed summary of the plaintive singer/songwriter's rather turbulent career. An American who is much better known in Europe, Casal's eight albums and EPs over the titular decade show glimpses of brilliance amidst material slightly less stellar. In other words, his output is inconsistent, which makes this a perfect entry point for those who haven't tuned in previously. Possessing a lovely, lilting tenor voice -- at times sounding like Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook -- Casal is often compared to Jackson Browne and Neil Young due to introspective songs similar to the former ("Free Light of Day") and the ability to rock out when necessary with layered guitars ("Eddy & Diamonds") of the latter. There is an ease of performance here that transcends time, making these folk-country-rock songs sound effortless and natural. Even though they were recorded over a ten-year period, the album's non-chronological sequencing makes this feel like a seamless recording. The classy and thoughtfully laid-out 24-page book fills in Casal's back history, detailing his story through quotes from the artist and a meticulous track listing that includes all sidemen and lyrics to the songs. The end result is the portrait of a performer who, due to the usual bad business breaks, should be a much better-known quantity, at least in America. The album loses a little steam in its final third with a few too many ballads programmed back to back, but the songwriting and performance quality is so consistently resilient that this is a minor complaint. A second DVD included in some versions of the package features a documentary along with demos and live tracks. It further enhances this near definitive overview of an artist that has, unfortunately, fallen through the cracks. An obscure find well-worth searching out.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Shaun Belcher
Exile on Main St.
Born in New Jersey on November 2, 1968, country-rock songwriter Neal Casal enjoyed an acclaimed solo career before joining Ryan Adams' backing band, the Cardinals, in the mid-2000s. Casal had a restless childhood following the divorce of his parents, spending time in such various states as Georgia, California, Michigan, Florida, and upstate New York. At the age of 13, he received what would prove to be the catalyst for his music career: the twin gifts of a guitar and a copy of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. The budding singer/songwriter was fronting his own band by high school, taking inspiration from the swagger of the Stones as well as the craft of Peter Tosh, Hank Williams, and Woody Guthrie. A publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music arrived in 1991, and a contract with Zoo Records followed three years later.
Fade Away Diamond Time
For his first studio album, Casal teamed up with Wilco/Whiskeytown producer Jim Scott, who molded a reinvention of post-Woodstock '70s rock around Casal's literate songwriting. Recording sessions took place in a Spanish mansion outside of Santa Barbara -- the same mansion that Dean Martin once called home, in fact -- and Casal emerged with his stunning debut, 1995's Fade Away Diamond Time. The album's mix of Americana and California-styled country-rock won critical acclaim from publications like the Washington Post, but Casal was still dropped from Zoo's roster halfway through the following tour. Zoo went out of business soon after, but Casal bounced back, joining the indie label Buy or Die and releasing a low-key acoustic disc, Rain, Wind and Speed, in 1996. The German label Glitterhouse released Rain, Wind and Speed in Europe, where Casal's melodic and tuneful "poetry" picked up a loyal following after he made several solo and group appearances. His increased profile led to a second Glitterhouse release, a limited-edition collection of outtakes and unreleased tracks called Field Recordings, in 1997. That same year, Casal assembled a full band (including many players who joined him on Fade Away Diamond Time) and took five days to record the self-produced The Sun Rises Here. Music veterans began to take note of the songwriter's credentials, and James Iha (the Smashing Pumpkins) even solicited Casal's help for his first solo disc, 1998's Let It Come Down.
Basement Dreams
Neal Casal continued to release solo albums in the late '90s and into the 21st century, including 1998's Basement Dreams, 2000's Anytime Tomorrow, 2005's Return in Kind, and 2006's No Wish to Reminisce. He also joined Ryan Adams' backing band, the Cardinals, playing lead guitar and contributing vocal harmonies to a string of albums.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
********************